How to Prepare the National Guard's Leadership for Successful Venture in Homeland Security

摘要

The National Guard (NG) will be the first military force on disaster scenes in the United States. If the NG is to respond as efficiently as possible, the NG leadership must be educated on preparation for and response to disasters. Research questions used were: how to overcome the gap in disaster- response knowledge, and what are the topics on which the Department of Defense (DoD) should specifically educate the NG leadership. What has caused this education gap and how can the NG leadership overcome it. Survey and interview responses revealed that gaps exist in what the NG knows about the state response process and knowledge of what the civilians expect from the military. A review of the existing education opportunities available to the NG showed that none covered the state process. Using the military decision-making process, courses of action were developed to correct this education shortfall. Recommendations included the development of a one-week course to address the state response process, DoD acknowledgment of the civil support mission, and the assigned and funded ability of the NG to educate and train on the civil support missions.